Paint pail holder



Oct. 27, 1964 E. M. MONSON PAINT PAIL HOLDER Filed Feb. 25, 1963 FIG. 1

m m M EDW/N M. MO/VSON AT FDR/V5 Y United States Patent 3,154,282 PAINT PAIL HOLDER Edwin M. Monson, 1289 Hague Ave., St. Paul 4, Minn. Filed Feb. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 260,385 2 Claims. (Cl. 248211) This invention relates to a paint pail holder for use with a ladder; in particular, the invention concerns such a device that is adapted for positioning on either side of a ladder by turning it over when it is desired to place it from one side to the other.

My invention meets the problem frequently fawd by painters in holding an open pail of pairit in a working position upon the side of a ladder. Many of the holders now in use either require complicated or expensive structure to function properly or they fail to yield the advantages sought in a device of this type. The reversible paint holders previously available are characterized by a complex of hinged arms, springs and other components which add to the cost of the item and make them hard to manage in actual use. In addition, it has been found that most of these devices do not provide for mounting the open paint bucket so that its wire bail is drawn well back from the open top of the pail to facilitate ease in dipping a paint brush thereinto.

It is, therefore, an important object of this invention to provide a paint pail holder for use with a ladder that will overcome the above disadvantages and limitations and provide an easily manufactured low cost item capable of being used on either side of a ladder with a minimum of effort. It is also an object of this invention to provide a rung engageable paint pail holder that holds the bail of the paint pail well out of the way of a painter.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a paint pail holder novel structure adapted to hold a paint pail on either side of a ladder in a completely rigid manner and adapted for changing from one side to the other with the use of one hand.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the invention showing its mounting position upon a ladder;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation view of the invention mounted upon a ladder with a paint bucket attached thereto, the dotted lines indicating the holder and the paint bucket in a reversed position upon the same ladder rung as the sold line structure;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 2.

Referring now to the drawing, the invention, illustrated in its entirety by the reference character A, is shown as being mounted upon a rung B and supported partially by the side rail C of a ladder D. The structural features of the holder include an elongated fiat bar having an inner leg 12 and an outer leg 14 connected thereto by an intermediate leg 16. Inner leg 12 is of greater length than outer leg 14 and is adapted to overly in parallel spaced relation to run B of ladder D. Intermediate leg 16 is perpendicular to legs 12, 14 and is abuttingly engageable with the inner surface 18 of side rail C of ladder D. Outer leg 14 extends against the top surface 26 of side rail C beyond the plane of its outer surface a slight distance. Carried at the outer end of outer leg 14 is a bail receiving arm 24 perpendicularly 3,154,282 Patented Oct. 27, 1964 disposed with respect thereto and extending from each side of leg 14 a suflicient distance, as at 25, to engage and hold the bail E of a paint bucket F in the space 27 between it and side rail C. It can be seen that arm 24 is kept rather close to the outer surface of side rail C so that the bail E is drawn well back fro-m the open top of the paint bucket F and held at a shallow angle, as at 26, to afford maximum room for a painter to dip his brush into the bucket F.

The structure used to mount holder A to rung B includes a pair of rung engaging members 30 and 40 carried by inner leg 12. Both rung engaging members 30 and 49 are designed so that holder A may be mounted on either end of rung B, as illustrated in FIGURE 2. This is accomplished in rung engaging member 30 by providing a right angularly disposed body 32 secured to inner leg 12 intermediate side rail C and the free end 13 thereof and having a pair of inwardly facing open hook portions 34, 36. Hook portions 34, 36 of rung en gaging member 39 are mirror images of each other when viewed in vertical cross section, as shown in FIGURE 4. Similarly, rung engaging member 40, located adjacent the free end 13 of inner leg 12, is provided with a right angularly disposed body 42 having a pair of outwardly facing open book portions 44, 46. Hook portions 44, 45 of rung engaging member 40 are mirror images of each other when viewed in vertical cross section, as shown in FIGURE 3. It will be understood from the foregoing that hook portion 34 of rung engaging member 30 engages the upper surface of rung B when hook portion 44 of rung engaging member 49 engages the lower surface of rung B. When holder A is turned over from the solid line position of FIGURE 2, to the dotted line position thereof, hook portion 36 of member 30 engages the upper surface of rung B while hook portion 46 of member 40 engages the lower surface of rung B. Arm 24 extends, as at 25, from each side of outer leg 16 to permit the hail of a paint bucket to be held from either side of the ladder.

The invention has been thoroughly tested and found to be entirely satisfactory for the use intended. It is particularly useful for jobs that require the changing of the paint bucket from one side of the ladder to the other during a single position of the ladder. With my device, it is possible to change the holder from one side to the other with one hand while holding the paint bucket in the other hand. Considerable time and effort is saved by not having to bring everything down to ground level to make such a change. The absence of moving components enables my device to be readily manufactured of ordinary materials and also increases the rigidity and safety of the device.

Thus there has been described an improved paint pail holder for use with a ladder. The invention has been disclosed by describing and showing the preferred though not exclusive practical embodiment of it. I now set out with the particularity required by statute those structures that I believe to be inventive in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a paint pail holder for use with a ladder including an elongated bar, said elongated bar including an inner leg and a parallel offset outer leg connected thereto, a bail support member at the end of said outer leg and extending on either side thereof, the combination of:

a pair of right angularly disposed rung engaging members rigidly secured to said inner leg;

one of said rung engaging members including a pair of inwardly facing open hook portions each adapted to independently engage the top of a ladder rung;

the other of said rung engaging members including a pair of outwardly facing open hook portions each 3 4- adapted to independently engage the bottom of a References Cited in the file of this patent ladder rung; the said rung engaging members being adapted to UNITED STATES PATENTS support a paint pail from either side of a ladder by 652,010 Wheeler 111116 1 being turned 180 from a rung engaging position 5 978,550 Boyd Dec. 13, 1910 on one side of the ladder to a rung engaging posi- 1,880,319 Iasillo Oct. 4, 1932 tion on the opposite side of the ladder. 2,243,799 Glosier May 27, 1941 2. The structure described in claim 1 wh r in ai 2,686,033 Keiter Aug. 10, 1954 bail support member is closely adjacent the outer suI- 3,029,054 Mott 10, 1962 face of the ladder when said holder is mounted thereun. 1 

1. IN A PAINT PAIL HOLDER FOR USE WITH A LADDER INCLUDING AN ELONGATED BAR, SAID ELONGATED BAR INCLUDING AN INNER LEG AND A PARALLEL OFFSET OUTER LEG CONNECTED THERETO A BAIL SUPPORT MEMBER AT THE END OF SAID OUTER LEG AND EXTENDING ON EITHER SIDE THEREOF, THE COMBINATION OF: A PAIR OF RIGHT ANGULARLY DISPOSED RUNG ENGAGING MEMBERS RIGIDLY SECURED TO SAID INNER LEG; ONE OF SAID RUNG ENGAGING MEMBERS INCLUDING A PAIR OF INWARDLY FACING OPEN HOOK PORTIONS EACH ADAPTED TO INDEPENDENTLY ENGAGE THE TOP OF A LADDER RUNG; THE OTHER OF SAID RUNG ENGAGING MEMBERS INCLUDING A PAIR OF OUTWARDLY FACING OPEN HOOK PORTIONS EACH ADAPTED TO INDEPENDENTLY ENGAGE THE BOTTOM OF A LADDER RUNG; THE SAID RUNG ENGAGING MEMBERS BEING ADAPTED TO SUPPORT A PAINT PAIL FROM EITHER SIDE OF A LADDER BY BEING TURNED 180* FROM A RUNG ENGAGING POSITION ON ONE SIDE OF THE LADDER TO A RUNG ENGAGING POSITION ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE LADDER. 